An EShaped House
by alice rosethorn
Summary: At the beginning of Maximum Ride, Angel is stolen. What was her perspective on everything that happened to her?


AN E-SHAPED HOUSE

Angel's view of Maximum Ride 1... ENJOY! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO JAMES PATTERSON. ALL CONVERSATIONS ARE HIS TOO. ALL OF THE WRITING IS MINE. NO STEALS OR I HIT YOU WITH A SMOKED HERRING.

I loved our house. It was so… open, so free from all the awful things the whitecoats had done to us in years past. I liked how our whole family was there in one little clump, together. I liked my room, with my curtains and clothes and stuffed animals (I liked to make little nest-like spaces and curl up in them).

I liked having Max be our mom.

Of course, when Jeb left I was too little to remember him, so I never knew another parental figure like Max. She told us all about Jeb, though, and how amazing he was, how much he'd done for us.

But anyways, I liked our house a lot, and I house we'd never have to leave it.

I was wrong.

I'll never forget the morning it happened. Max was up after having her usual nightmare, and I was randomly tuning into the flock's minds.  
_Food, now. What do we have? I hope Max doesn't make breakfast._

_I'm so tired. I wish I never had to get up. It's hard to stay awake, being blind… I bet no one else in this family realizes that…_

_I bet she wishes I talked more. Or maybe not. Maybe she doesn't think about me as much as I think about her…_

_Time to go wake up Nudge. That girl had better keep her mouth shut. Iggy needs to hurry up and finish making breakfast; Gazzy looks hungry, never a good sign. I wish Fang would stop being so silent._

_Why do I have to get up? It's, like, four o'clock! Man, I had such good dreams last night. Can't wait to tell the flock about them…_

Max walked back to the corner in which I was sitting. It was my favorite place in the whole house; quiet, with all of my stuff in one place. Max pulled back the curtain. Her pretty, tanned face looked happy, calm, and relaxed. Her brown-blonde hair was hanging down behind her ears, and as I watched, she flipped some of it impatiently away. I bet she was going to cut it soon.

"Hey, you're already dressed," she said, leaning over and hugging me. I smiled. I was wearing my favorite dress, white with strawberries on it. I had to tug my blonde curls out of the collar before replying.

"Hi, Max," I said. "Could you do my buttons?"  
"Yep," she said, and I turned around so she could button me up.

I tuned into her thoughts.

_I love Angel so much. I bet she doesn't even realize how much I love her. I've been taking care of her since she was little, I guess. She's so sweet and loving. I don't know why I like her best, but I do. I don't want the others to know; they'd be so jealous…_

"Maybe it's because I'm like your little girl," I said, replying to her thoughts. "But don't worry, Max. I won't tell anybody. Besides, I love you best too."

I hugged her and kissed her cheek. She smiled and hugged me back.

"Time for breakfast," she said, dumping Nudge unceremoniously out of bed and grabbing my hand.

Iggy made a good breakfast for us as usual—scrambled eggs and toast. I smiled at him as I took a bite.

Before speaking, I tested the other's minds for their feelings about today.

_Feel like I'm gonna fart… oh well, that's just me…_

_I hope they like breakfast. Cooking is one of my only skills, and I wish I could watch their reactions._

_She'll take care of the flock, of Angel and Gazzy especially, and look so wonderful… how can I get her to take that much care of me?  
…And then I'd say, 'Yeah, that's how I feel,' and then he'd say…_

_Angel looks thoughtful. Iggy looks pained, I wonder why… Gazzy looks like he's going to pass the gas, oh joy… Fang is being silent… I wonder if anyone feels bad? It's not like they tell me when they feel sick…_

I decided that my next statement would be welcome. "I want to go pick strawberries today. They're ripe now," I said cheerfully, referring to the strawberry patch near our E-shaped house.

"Okay, Angel, I'll go with you," Gazzy said happily. We were brother and sister, and he'd do anything with me.

Suddenly Gazzy passed the gas. Max was laughing in her head, but she said, "Oh, jeez, Gazzy."  
Iggy, Gazzy's best friend, said, "Gas… mask!" and pretended to choke.

"I'm _done," _said Fang, scraping his food into the garbage.

"Sorry," said Gazzy.

"Yeah, Angel," said Nudge, and I heard the echo of the words in her head as she said them aloud, "I think the _fresh air _would do us all good. I'll go too."  
"We'll all go," said Max, and since her word was top, we ended up going.

It was sunny, and the strawberries were fresh and ripe. I unfurled my wings a little and shook them. The sun felt nice on my feathers, which rippled in the slight breeze.

"If you make a cake, I can make strawberry shortcakes," I said happily, grabbing Max's hand.

"Yeah, that'll be the day, when Max makes a cake. I'll make it, Angel," Gazzy said in Iggy's voice. His voice-throwing never caught me off guard, since I could hear the words before he said them.

Max thought it was Iggy, of course, and said, "Oh, thank you! Okay, so I'm not a fabulous cook. But I can still kick your butt, and don't you forget it!"  
Everyone was laughing, and Max said, "Gazzy, was that you?"

He grinned and shrugged, and I looked around while everyone was joking off. Something felt off. I could hear thoughts that weren't ours getting close. I heard one of them think, _I bet the little one will cry when Max is dead. Pity, pity… they need to learn to separate from their mamas!_

I screamed, and Max whirled around as Erasers dropped from the sky.

Max and the others whirled into the fight, and I tried my best, but a big Eraser with a sly grin grabbed me and shoved me into a burlap sack. Everything was dark, and my arms hurt from being pulled behind my back. The Eraser shoved my head in, punching my jaw on the way back up. I tried to suppress a sob.

Everything was dark and cool inside the car and the bag. I fought hard to get out, but I couldn't find the top. The Eraser's thoughts were choppy and terrifying. They were going to take me back to the school!  
I heard Max shouting something. "Max!" I screamed, and the Eraser hit the bag hard. I felt my elbow pop and shuddered in pain.  
Suddenly I was flying through the air, still in the bag. My screams were lost in the din of a helicopter chopper. Rough hands shoved me inside.

"Max," I sobbed. "Max!"  
The Eraser wasn't near me. He was out on the side, and I could hear his thoughts. He was talking to Max!  


I butted, kicked and bit my way out of the bag until I had my head out. Shaking my head free of curls, I looked forward.

Max was falling, her wings snapping out so she wouldn't smash into the ground. Tears streaked her blood-encrusted face, and she met my eyes for a second.

Then an Eraser swung something at my head, and everything went black.


End file.
